Maelstrom
The Maelstrom is the gigantic rift that was created when the Well of Eternity collapsed into itself during the Great Sundering. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos From the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos manual: :As the aftershocks from the Well of Eternity's implosion rattled the bones of the world, the seas rushed in to fill the gaping wound left in the earth. Nearly eighty percent of Kalimdor's landmass had been blasted apart, leaving only a handful of separate continents surrounding the new, raging sea. At the center of the new sea, where the Well of Eternity once stood, was a tumultuous storm of tidal fury and chaotic energies. This terrible scar, known as the Maelstrom, would never cease its furious spinning. It would remain a constant reminder of the terrible catastrophe... and the Utopian era that had been lost forever. At the center of the Maelstrom is a location known as the Eye. The empires of the makrura and the naga lie beneath it. In Warcraft III, when Thrall's fleet crashed, they made an emergency landing on an island near the Maelstrom where they found a group of trolls fighting desperately against human colonists and murloc invaders. The island was destroyed (though not by the Maelstrom), with Thrall barely escaping. It is implied that the Maelstrom is slowly drawing the Broken Isles towards itself, and will ultimately destroy them for good. World of Warcraft The Maelstrom is a large storm in the center of the world map, where it sits between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Ship and zeppelin routes go out of their way to avoid the Maelstrom, for fairly obvious reasons. You must pass through the Maelstrom to get to Deepholm via a quest given from the Earthen Ring in your faction's home city. Cataclysm In World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Deathwing re-enters Azeroth from Deepholm via the Maelstrom. The Maelstrom is a sanctuary, where PvP combat is disabled. The zone can be reached through the breadcrumb quests leading to Deepholm from Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Thrall and Aggra are also present here (now affiliated with the Earthen Ring). Thrall is trying to maintain the rift, while Aggra provides transportation down into Deepholm. Media Images File:Maelstrom_loading_screen_4_1_13875.jpg| Cataclysm loading screen File:The-Maelstrom.jpg|Thrall working his magic outside of the Maelstrom File:Flying above the Maelstrom.jpg|Flying above the Maelstrom File:Into the Maelstrom.jpg|Into the eye File:WorldMap-TheMaelstromContinent.jpg|The Maelstrom continent during 12984 Beta Build File:WorldMap-TheMaelstrom.jpg|Zone map File:MaelstromCataclysm.png|As it appears on the minimap. File:MaelstromToDeepholm.jpg|The Maelstrom as it appears during the Deepholm intro quest. File:Maelstromsurface.PNG|The Maelstrom's surface. File:Maelstromundersea.PNG|Underneath the Maelstrom. Videos WoW Pro Lore Episode 5 The War of the Ancients ends part 2 2|The destruction of the Well of Eternity blasted Kalimdor into pieces and created the Maelstrom Warcraft History & Lore Episode 7 - The Great Sundering of the World|Nobdy Enoon's video series on Warcraft History & Lore Cataclysm - Maelstrom Map Portal Cataclysm - Maelstrom Overview The Maelstrom Geography Maps and subregions References See also * Young Maelstrom Creationism External links ;Continental areas ;Maelstrom-only de:Mahlstrom es:Maelstrom fr:Maelström pl:Maelstrom Category:South Seas Category:Azeroth Category:Maelstrom